Physics 464 (ECE 464 ), Laser Physics I

Mondays and Wednesdays, 11:00 to 12:15 pm, tentatively PAIS Room 1160

Fall 2025

 

Instructor

Jean-Claude Diels

Physics & Astronomy room PAIS 2236, phone 277 4026

CHTM, room 114A, phone 272 7830 email: jcdiels@unm.edu

 

Teaching Assistant

 

 

Reference material

Lecture content, followed by a link to the powerpoint file, and homework assignments will be posted on my personal Web site dielslab.unm.edu/courses.

References will be made to textbooks and articles, when appropriate. I follow the notations of the book “Ultrafast Phenomena” of which a link can be found before the first lecture.

Other reference material:

• LASERS, by Anthony E. Siegman, University Press
• Laser electronics, J.Y Verdeyen, Prentice Hall
• Solid state laser engineering, W. Koechner, Springer verlag
• Photonics, Saleh

 

Assignments

Homework problems will be assigned on a regular base, due generally on Wednesdays. They will count for 40% of the final grade.

Some problems will be treated in class.

Exams One midterm and one final; 30% of grade each.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book "Ultrafast Phenomena"

 

INTRODUCTION

Putting Laser Light in Context

1. Light is just one example of wave

There are:

• Water waves
• Plasma waves
• Acoustic wave
• Light waves
• Gravitational waves

A wave propagate for huge distances, while each particle responsible for the wave motion stays at the same average position, just inducing the motion of the next particle.

In most cases, the wave starts from a local oscillation, and propagates radially from there, like rings produced by a duck paddling on a pond.

In the case of light, it is the electric field produced by a charge oscillating up and down that starts off the wave.

• Wave propagation equation (first order) Retarded frame
• Sine waves and “rogue waves”
• water waves, acoustic waves, gravitational waves and light waves Wave propagation equation
• Wave propagation equation: second order to first order - slowly varying envelope approximation

• Homework 1 assigned, due Monday August 25, 10 AM.

[Verdeyen Chapter 1]

[Ultrashort Laser Pulse Phenomena Section 1.2]

Link to powerpoint file (Lecture 1.ppt)

2. Notations

 

 

POLARIZATION AS ELECTRON RESPONSE

Light-matter interaction: the light field moves the electron.  The field of the moving electrons adds to the applied light field.

Free electron versus bound electron.  Plasma frequency and Drude model.

 [Ultrashort Laser Pulse Phenomena Section 3.1, 3.2]

 

 

 

 

LIGHT-MATTER  INTERACTION

From semi-classical to classical

Electron response to a field

Interaction of light with two-level systems Coherent propagation effects

Adiabatic following

Rate equations approximation Linear polarization

Link to powerpoint file (Lecture 5.ppt)

 

 

 

 

 

HOMEWORKS

HOMEWORK 1: Maxwell propagation equations

Due August 25, 10 AM